Aryna Sabalenka revealed that she initially blamed herself for the Wimbledon situation, but later realized that she personally «did nothing wrong against the Ukrainian people.» Last year, Wimbledon took a strong stance against Russian and Belarusian athletes, banning them from The Championships.
Before her campaign in Indian Wells, Sabalenka was asked if she had any thoughts about Russian and Belarusian players participating in Wimbledon 2023. «People’s reaction, some different things made me feel really bad, that this is my fault. .
But then I realized that this is not in my control. I did nothing, nothing wrong against the Ukrainian people. This is simply not my fault,» Sabalenka said, according to eurosport.
Sabalenka, Daniil Medvedev on the Wimbledon situation
Medvedev also shared his thoughts on the Wimbledon situation, stressing that he is not the one making the decision.
However, Medvedev also added that he will respect what the Wimbledon organizers decide to do. «I’m not going to make this decision for them or even help them make this decision. They have to go it alone for their different reasons, like they did last year.»
And I always said that I will respect this decision. I play where I can play, tennis is my job, so I would be very happy to play Wimbledon. I love that tournament, but if it’s not meant to be, I’m going to wait for the chance to go back there,» Medvedev said.
Last year some of the biggest names in men’s and women’s soccer missed Wimbledon due to the ban. In the men’s event, some of the names that did not participate were Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov. In the women’s event, Sabalenka, Daria Kasatkina and Victoria Azarenka were unable to participate.
Sabalenka became a Grand Slam champion at the start of the 2023 season in Australia. Sabalenka is off to a great start in 2023 and not having her at Wimbledon would be a blow.
